Cave Story: Aftermath
by Darren Starr
Summary: The Doctor is defeated and the Island falls, but this is only the beginning.  Buck and Mitch find themselves in the middle of a feud ten years in the making.


Prologue

In order to read this fan fiction few things must be understood (and, of course, knowledge of the Cave Story storyline, particularly the normal ending). I'll start from the island's appearance on our earth. The island mysteriously appeared over an undisclosed location in Asia in 2132 AD. Some research teams were sent secretly by governments to investigate the island. They discovered that the island's wildlife contained a strange energy that could be extracted through the use of special weapons (they also recorded something about a myth regarding a "Demon Crown" but dismissed it as folklore). The local population, the mimigas, did not like the idea of humans running about on their island. Diplomats from UN countries tried to persuade the mimiga leader to let them mine their wildlife. Again and again the mimigas refused to let the humans on their island. The UN took drastic measures and sent squads of robots to the island to force the mimigas into letting them mine their island. The mimigas still resisted, and were declared war upon. The Japanese, knowing the rest of the United Nations' plan to take over the island, placed two robots in the midst of their squads. They looked human and were passed off as a couple of young robot maintainers, fresh out of college (as there were others sent to the island). The robots, Curly Brace and another whose name will not be mentioned here, faced off against the evil robots, and did much to save the mimigas (although as any Cave Story player would know, it was the red flowers that ultimately kept them from death). Even though the Japanese did plant the robots along with the others, there was no proof that the Japanese government funded the operation, and the Japanese were not disbanded from the union.  
The island's existence was kept a secret from the general public, because the island attracted clouds quite well, and was not visible by land. They also used the means they had available to further keep the island's existence unknown. But they only kept the secret for so long. Ten years after the assault on the island a Japanese research team discovered the island. They sent a helicopter and landed its surface. The UN let them investigate, because they assumed all evidence of their assault was gone. They had witnessed the events that led Quote and Curly to lose their memories, so it appeared as though they were dead. The island wouldn't be a secret for long. Cave Story: Aftermath

A Cave Story fan fiction by Darren Starr 

The robot felt himself free falling through the air as he thought of the Island, and all it held that was falling to the ground, to be destroyed. The Mimigas (rabbit-like sentient beings) who didn't make it out the island in time. The lush life held in Grasstown, the witch, Jenka, Balrog the Toaster (or was he a lunchbox?), and worst of all, the robot's aid and companion, Curly Brace. As the image of her face filled his memory, he was full of regret. She had sacrificed her life for his. What made him so special? He'd barely known Curly, but she felt she needed to sacrifice herself.

Suddenly all of his thoughts came to a close as he stopped short in the air. He looked down and saw a dragon's back. In the dragon's mouth was a mimiga, who had turned out to be human, whose name was Sue. Her brother, Kazuma, was in front of the robot, guiding the Sky Dragon to follow the helicopter that flew above.

"Wow," Kazuma said. "I wasn't sure you'd pull it off… but destroying the Core… let's just say the Doctor won't be bothering us any more."

The robot was unsure that this was a victory. Sure, he did stop the Doctor from executing his evil plans, but whom did he save? For all he knew, the mimigas had all been killed.

"Kazuma!" Sue yelled. "Let me down!"

Kazuma chuckled. "Okay, sister. We'll be home soon."

"Yaargh! KAZUMA!"

There was nothing Sue could do about her situation, so she just dangled at the dragon's mouth with folded arms. The robot sat on the dragon thinking about all that had happened.

The island fell to the ground with a horrible crack, and caused further destruction to it, and water gushed out its side. Some nearby hunters were startled by the sound, but were curious, so they investigated. They peered past some trees and saw the island's wreckage.

"Hey Mitch." One hazel-eyed hunter said to his companion. "What's that?"

The yellow-haired hunter pushed up his glasses and squinted. "I don't know, but I sure as heck am going to find out."

The two hunters hiked over to the wreckage, which had to be at least two miles away. When they were near, Mitch hit something with his foot. First something wet, then something hard. He looked down and saw a woman in a creek he was standing in.

"Hey Buck," Mitch said. "Look at this!"

Buck peered behind himself at his friend. When he noticed the discovery, his eyes widened, and he said, "Mitch, gall-darn it, you've found yourself a girlfriend!"

Mitch rolled his eyes. Buck always joked about Mitch's relationship status. Mitch only had one girlfriend in college, and none in high school. And his girlfriend in college only lasted a month, because Mitch gave up on the relationship with his all-too-dramatic girlfriend. Relationships weren't his thing. Heck, he was a geeky engineer. He also didn't want to go hunting in Asia with Buck, but they were friends since high school, so what was he supposed to do?

Buck peered closer at the female lying in the water. "Is she dead?" Buck asked.

"No," Mitch said. "She appears to be breathing."

Buck shrugged a shrug of apathy. "Never mind her. If she's alive she can come with us and investigate this thing. Man I want to see what's inside. Perhaps treasure, maybe exotic animals we can hunt. Who knows? We could be rich!"

"Buck, you're already richer than seventy percent of the world's population."

"Good point, and the extra work of skinning the animals and carrying the pelts wouldn't be worth the hassle."

Buck was the epitome of good luck. For his eighteenth birthday he received a lottery ticket. Well, he won the lottery, which was good, but he only received a half-million dollars out of the 3 million dollar jackpot, due to taxes and sharing the jackpot with another winner. You may think his luck was bad, but that is not where Buck's luck had ended. He invested his money in the stock of a robotics corporation, whose name he could seldom recall, and the extra money he spent made the company have a breakthrough in robotics technology. The company had already spent billions trying to find out the latest advancement, but it just so happened that Buck's $500,000 put them over the top. And the only reason Buck invested was because it had a cool Japanese name, which, as mentioned, he usually forgets.

So because of his luck, Buck had achieved billions of dollars of stock in this company, the world's leading provider of personal robots. Buck was reflecting on his riches when he noticed something on the woman: the company's logo. It was faded, yes, but it was there.

"Mitch," Buck exclaimed. "It's a robot."

Mitch examined the robot more closely. He saw the logo as well. "Wow Buck, good catch."

"It was nothing. What do you know about robots?"

"I know a thing or two. Let's see…" Mitch looked for a panel on the back of the robot's head. This was the first robot he'd seen that looked so human, so the panel was difficult to locate. After about thirty seconds of searching he found the panel. "Well, from what I can tell here, the robot is flooded with water. I know a way we can bring her back, but we'll have to go somewhere that I'll be able to work more carefully. If I mess up the draining process, then she could be rendered useless."

"Alright, we should probably get back to the tent then, huh?"  
"Yes."  
"Hmph," Buck said discontentedly. "But then we won't be able to go in that cave."  
"Well," Mitch said. "After I drain the robot, she will have to go through a rebooting process which could take hours. We'll have time to come back here by the end of the day. Plus we'll be able to get some flashlights."  
"And some food. I was hoping to shoot something but now I'm craving some fish."  
"Alright," Mitch lightly chuckled and said. "To the tent it is." 

The helicopter's blades had long stopped spinning as the Sky Dragon landed nearby. The robot jumped off somberly. He walked inside the large building the Sakamotos called home. Sue and Kazuma Sakamoto greeted their mother, Momorin. They all hugged each other, happy to be on the ground again. Momorin felt it a little odd that her daughter had furry, floppy ears, but she was so happy to see her again it didn't matter.  
"What took you guys so long getting back?" the mother said.  
"We had to stop and let Sue get a better seat on the dragon." The elder son said.  
"Yeah, Kazuma, after you were being a jerk about it for thirty minutes." The still disgruntled Sue said. "At least I'm off that island."  
The robot just stared. He had no one left. Curly was dead and gone. He sheepishly uttered a few words, "Did any of the mimigas make it?"  
The robot couldn't save Toroko, the young mimiga, from becoming enraged, He had to kill her to stop his own death, but even though he was defending himself, it was emotionally wracking to do so. Watching her life fade was very painful to him. And King, the mimigas' ruler, who tried to save Toroko, had fallen at the hands of the Doctor. He had thought many times about the mimigas, who all had presumably died. He expected a grave response, but instead Momorin grinned.  
"Luckily, the Doctor had all the mimigas in one place, and in one very cramped helicopter ride, we brought them all to safety."  
The robot's expression brightened. "Can I see them?" He asked.  
"Oh of course," Momorin said. "How about we all go inside?"  
"Hey mama?"  
"Yes Sue?"  
"Do you think I'll have to be a mimiga forever?"  
"Oh, of course not, Sue. Actually, I've had some time to look at some of the Doctor's notes, and I may have found a way to reverse your form."  
The four headed in the house, where Momorin was to discuss her findings. 

Mitch and Buck heaved the robot onto the table.  
"My, that girl's heavy." Mitch commented.  
"Yeah, and it didn't help what with me doing all the heavy lifting." Buck replied.  
Mitch acknowledged this with a subtle nod, and said, "Well I've got to get working to drain the water out of this baby."  
Buck said, "All right, I'll make us some sandwiches."  
"I thought you wanted fish."  
"Yeah, sardine sandwiches."  
Mitch grimaced and started his work. Buck was in the other room slapping some mayonnaise on the sardines he had pulled out of the fridge. Yes, it was a large tent. Basically all they did was take a cargo truck filled with stuff and made a temporary home out of it. Anyway, Buck was whistling and spreading the fatty substance over some bread-enclosed sardines, eating a few as he went along. The twenty-nine year old billionaire could have had anything to eat, but he'd eaten sardines ever since antiquity, and wasn't about to quit now… unless they weren't in olive oil. One good thing about sardines is that you don't need much to preserve them for a long time; the sardines he was using were almost a half-year old. Their little spines crunched in his mouth delectably, and their fishy flesh slid down his throat with ease. He had made two sandwiches, but assumed Mitch wouldn't want one, so he ate them both.  
Mitch wiped his hands off with a rag on his way in the kitchen and said, "All right, the rebooting process has begun. We can head out now if you like."  
Buck swallowed the last of his sandwich and said, "Well, let's get our stuff ready. Do you want to grab a bite before we go?"  
"Eh, I suppose I should. What do we have in there?"  
"Well," Buck said, opening the fridge. "We have, uh, let's see, some protein shake mix, sardines," to which Mitch lightly grimaced again, "we got some mayonnaise, for the sardines that is, and we got uh, some tuna fish. That makes we want a tuna sandwich."  
So Buck prepared them some tuna sandwiches and they ate them up, and prepared to go. They packed some backpacks full of stuff they'd need: water, flashlights, their guns, you know, the essentials. They hopped on an ATV and drove out to the wreckage.  
They arrived at the crash site and stepped inside the gaping hole. With their flashlights they illuminated a room that had once been totally filled with water. Mitch noticed some pipes and said, "This must be some sort of water way. What the heck would a robot be doing in a place filled with water?"  
"The question is, why were the robots from that Fujimoto Company in this thing in the first place?"  
"Good question. We can probably find out from that robot, once it reboots."  
"Do you think there's anything of interest in this place?"  
"Nah, this door up here's sealed off. There's no getting past it without some major explosives."  
"Oh, okay. I was hoping there'd be some sort of adventure in here."  
"Yeah, life usually does let you down like that, doesn't it?"  
They headed back coming up with ideas of what the cave could have contained. Mitch commented that signs of life were evident, due to how the waterway was constructed. Buck agreed, and jokingly suggested that aliens had lived there. Mitch replied that aliens could not have existed there, but in fact the life forms in the cave were actually Neanderthals who refused to move out of caves, and thusly created their own-complex cave. Of course, Buck and Mitch never guessed that the cave had actually come from the sky, that it once contained a talking briefcase (or was it a toaster?), and sentient bunnies.  
When the ATV pulled in, the friends realized something was amiss, and they saw another vehicle speed off… with Curly inside. They got out of the ATV and ran over to their Jeep and drove off in pursuit. The hum-vee ahead realized their pursuers behind, and opened the back of their vehicle so the passengers could spray bullets at the smaller vehicle. Mitch and Buck ducked under the hood of their car for cover, and waited for the enemy fire to stop.  
Mitch had never been shot at before, except in video games. He did think pretty straight for being so close to death. He realized that his vehicle was more maneuverable than the one ahead of his, and took that to his advantage. The bullets stopped spraying, and Mitch looked up, just in time to swerve away from a tree. Buck had pulled out his rifle. Bless him for wanting to buy all sorts of attachments for it, like a red dot sight and a scope. Not really necessary for hunting, but it made the gun look cooler. So Buck used the advantages he had and shot some men with great accuracy and they lost their grip and fell out of the hummer. Mitch swerved away from their bodies and kept the pursuit going. When the men up ahead realized what Buck was carrying, they shut the back of their vehicle to save their lives. Now all they had to do was focus on the pursuit.  
"Good job, buddy." Mitch said, keeping up with the hum-vee.  
"I've never shot a person before," Buck said. "At least they didn't die. I hope."  
"Well, you did well. I wouldn't have had the guts to pull the trigger." Mitch said this as he noticed a meter on the car's display board was flashing. Apparently the fusion engine was approaching critical levels, and further strain would put the car out of commission. This meant that the hummer (whose fusion engine could propel the massive vehicle only under much less strain), now beside them, was going to need to slow down. Buck pointed his gun at their driver, and told him to pull over, and he did so.  
Buck was the duct tape carrying kind of guy, so he tied up the men and shoved them over to the side of the road. The friends retrieved the robot and put it in their Jeep. They decided it was a good idea to head back to the airport, and hitch a ride back to the States on Buck's private jet early. 

Momorin was busy explaining her findings to Kazuma, but Sue couldn't really make sense of what she was saying so she stepped out of the room. She went into the room where the rescued mimigas were being kept. She saw the robot talking to some nearby Mimigas, and headed over.  
The robot was talking to a pair of mimigas known as the Colons, some mimigas Curly had taken into her care. There had originally been four, but two of them had consumed red flowers and had been enraged, like Toroko. When Momorin said she rescued all the mimigas, she meant the eight or nine surviving ones, which did little to life the robot's spirits. Sue stepped by the robot and they all fell silent.  
"Uh, hi," Sue said. "I'm Sue. You, robot, already knew that. But wait, I don't think I ever got your name."  
"I don't even know my name." The robot replied.  
"Oh, well, we should give you a new name. I'll call you… James."  
"Okay," the robot whose new name was James said. "That's a fine name."  
The robot tilted his head slightly downward, still a little sad. Sue figured there must be something she could do to cheer him up. "Why are you so sad?" she asked.  
"The island is gone. And it has taken Curly with it… Don't worry; I'm sure I'll get over it." James wasn't sure.  
"Who's Curly?"  
"Curly Brace was my one true companion on the island. I didn't know her that well, but she gave up her life for mine. I don't know why she did that… maybe she believed I was the one who could defeat the doctor, but I just don't get why she didn't try for herself."  
"Maybe your life was more important to her than her own." Sue said.  
James looked up and said, "Perhaps you're right. I don't know why she cared for me that much though."  
"Well, maybe it's because you're such a great guy. You decided to do what you could to save the mimigas, even when all hope seemed gone. A weaker robot would have escaped with Kazuma the first chance he got."  
What Sue said helped James feel better, but he still did miss Curly. James decided to give out a little smile, and Sue smiled back. Just then, James's eyes widened.  
"What if Curly survived?" James proposed.  
"Well, James. I know you'd like to see her again, but that is highly unlikely. She was still in the island when it fell."  
"Well, yes, but she was in an area flooded with water. Perhaps she's still in the island, completely unharmed."  
"That may be true, but it is highly unlikely."  
James sighed and looked away. "I suppose you're right."  
James was heading out the door, and Sue felt bad for saying what she said. "Where're you going?"  
"I'm going to pay my respect; hopefully it'll help ease my pain."  
Sue realized the James needed to do that alone, and sat in the room with the mimigas. James's demeanor made them all feel a little sad.  
James piled some stones together and lay Curly's air tank and her machine gun against the pile. He sighed and thought about how it had only been a few hours since he traded his Polar Star for the gun. He thought of how he didn't deserve the air tank. He held his head down in sadness as he knelt by the altar he'd made. Then he stood up and went inside. He had to be strong. It was what Curly would have wanted. All he needed was some rest.  
Meanwhile, Kazuma, Momorin, and an engineer named Itoh (who had also been turned into a mimiga) were discussing how they could turn Sue back into her natural state.  
"So, mom," Kazuma said. "Do you think it is reasonable to say that Sue will be back to her original form by next week?"  
"Oh, of course. We can assemble the transmogrification apparatus within the day, unless you want to get some rest. It is getting dark."  
"I think we should start right away." Itoh said hastily. "I don't like being a mimiga one bit," Itoh said this as one of the Colons peeked in, so he said, "No offense."  
"Okay," Momorin said. "Let's head down to the lab."

The Jeep went on at a normal pace, to limit the strain on the fusion core. Mitch glanced at Buck and said, "Did you remember to take their weapons?"  
"Yes. And look what I found." Buck handed over a blue pistol.  
"That's odd."  
"It sure is. It has a lot of water in it. Perhaps it was on the robot when they took it."  
"I don't see how we could have missed that."  
"Perhaps the robot had a storage compartment for weapons."  
"Possibly."  
They didn't say much else on their way to the airport; they were too shaken by the events that had just passed. They carried the robot with them on the plane. They took the blue pistol with them, and left their weapons at the depot with the Jeep. The pilot saw them enter, and wondered why they had one more companion with them than when they started out, and also wondered why they hadn't gotten the cargo plane in order, but he wasn't one to ask too many questions, so he just did his job and flew the plane.  
Buck was one of the few people who still used a human pilot on a plane. On-board computers ran most aircraft those days, with no need for a real pilot. Buck just liked having someone to talk to every now and then. He also didn't feel quite right being alone on a plane. That didn't really matter today, but it wasn't like Buck was going to fire his pilot because Mitch was with him. As they sat the robot down, it began to start back up from its rebooting process.  
"Where… where am I?" the robot asked.  
The two friends seated themselves on the nearby chairs. "You're on my private jet, you little robot." Buck explained.  
The robot winced. "I'm a robot? I suppose that makes sense."  
"Well of course it makes sense. You got that Ryuk Mochichi logo on your neck."  
"Ryuk Muchichi?"  
"Eh, I don't know what it's called. Sounded Japanese."  
"It appears as though she's been submerged so long that it's affected her memory." Mitch commented.  
"Yeah, looks that way, doesn't it?"  
"I could probably run a memory recovery protocol if I had a more suitable environment."  
"We can be home in a matter of hours. How sure are you that we can get her back to normal?"  
"I'm positive."  
The jet took off from the ground with a burst of speed that the robot was not accustomed to.  
"What's happening? Where am I? How is this possible?" The robot seemed afraid for its life.  
"I take it this is your first plane ride, huh?" Buck commented.  
"I guess you could say that."  
"Hey, robot," Mitch said inquisitively. "What's your name?"  
"I wouldn't know."  
"That's odd. This robot, although in some ways technologically advanced, is fairly primitive."  
"How so?" Buck asked.  
"Well, just look at it, or perhaps her, I suppose. She's practically human. She has flesh, skin, and, uh, you know."  
"I see your point. But how does that make her primitive?"  
"Well, most robots today have core programming of their names, or technically 'model IDs,' that probably could have had a more scientific name than that in my opinion, but whatever. Anyway, the model IDs of modern robots are embedded in a more secure, but smaller memory core, so in case their main memory gets wiped they can still respond to basic commands by recognizing their names. Other things included in the smaller memory are basically the owner's voice patterns, and other things like that, to validate its owner. So if they've been stolen, they'll know it, and do something about it. But this robot can not remember its name or detect the fact that she's not in the hands of her owner."  
"Owner?" The robot said quizzically. "I'm owned? What does that mean?"

Mitch ignored her and continued. "Well, the fact that she doesn't have these features could place her model back about, say, ten years."

"So does that mean she was sent to the cave ten years ago?"  
"Indeed it does. Well, _around_ ten years ago."  
"Around the time I invested in that Fuhikoru Giyumi Company."  
"Exactly."  
"What does this mean?"  
"Well, it means that you contributed to the completion of this robot."  
"Anything besides the obvious?"  
"Not really… just that we wouldn't be in this mess if it weren't for you."  
"Hey, I was gonna spend my money on guns and ninja swords, but you insisted that I invest in stock."  
"Well, then I suppose this is my fault. Well, then I take credit for the completion of this robot, and claim her as my property."  
"Yeah but I was the one who—" Buck realized when Mitch beat him with words, and decided not to do any damage to his pride by speaking any further. But quickly enough, Buck's mind sparked and he countered, without losing momentum in the conversation. "But is she really property?"  
"Of course she is," Mitch said, realizing that Buck wasn't just playing around and was intending to make a point. Mitch wasn't one for arguments; he grew bored of them in college, where there were too many people not worth making enemies of. "She's a machine. But what do you propose?"  
"Well," Buck said, a little shocked that he'd gotten through to his friend, who usually put up more resistance than this, but usually about less important things. "Well, I'd be the first person to claim the uselessness of an unfeeling robot, but this one is different. She shows emotion, she was obviously scared out of her mind when the plane took off. And the way she's looking out the window over there. No other robot would show interest about the outside of the plane, but would focus on serving the humans within."  
"True… Go on."  
"Well, what I aim to say is that although she's not human, she is a person. She shouldn't be owned."  
"I suppose you're right. Not that it matters too much."  
So Buck had gotten through to him, and they had a deeper conversation than the normal talk. They were due for one of those that month anyway; two birds in one stone. Well, Mitch was usually open to new ideas, but seldom conformed to any, so Buck relished in his victory. Such were their conversations.  
Mitch fell fast asleep, and Buck followed shortly after. The cabin grew quiet, and all the robot could hear was the droning noise of the jet's engines. She was alone with her thoughts. The day's events were indeed odd. She'd woken up to two men talking nonsense about robots, who shortly drifted into a deep sleep. She also was on a plane for her first moments, and was shaken quite unpleasantly by the plane's rumblings. And now she was off to who knows where, with some strange men who stole her, presumably to do experiments on her in their laboratory. But there wasn't much she could do about it. She was still a little drowsy, so she figured some shut-eye would do her some good. Soon she drifted asleep, unsure of what was going to happen next. 

"Hey, wake up."  
The robot awoke, feeling a bit groggy. "What's going on?"  
"We're landing, and you should probably put your seatbelt on." Mitch instructed.  
The robot fastened the belt, more for the safety of others than hers. The plane's descent was slow, but after about fifteen minutes the plane touched down, and its passengers were let off. The robot emerged into the airport, amazed at how many people were there, and the variety of languages she heard. She could perfectly understand each one. She also noticed a lot of other robots. At every food store one stood there taking orders, in a few corners some bots were picking up garbage and security bots patrolled the halls. This was a lot for a robot like this one to take in at once.  
"Hey, Buck," Mitch began to ask. "Where's our transportation?"  
"It's on the way," Came the reply.  
The robot just followed, unsure of what to do. She assumed she'd stick with this group, because they seemed to have taken a liking to her if they kept her for so long. But if they were going to do experiments, she'd high tail it out of there. She was still curious about what exactly had happened to her, so assumed that following these men would lead to answers...  
"Well," Mitch said anxiously. "I'm in no mood to stay here for too long. For all we know those guys who are after us followed us here."  
"Maybe so, but they'll have to get past customs."  
"Are you sure? Maybe they're government agents. They can go right through customs if need be. Not to mention I knew this guy who carried live shotgun shells in his carry-on through customs before, going away and coming back. Those guys could easily pass."  
"No way."  
"Yes way."  
"I don't believe it."  
"I wish it weren't true. All the more reason for us to book it."  
"Mitch, if we make it through customs in due time, the car will be ready for us at the door. We can make our escape in good timing."  
Mitch hoped so. He didn't know how they'd get the robot past customs, though. Maybe she had a passport on her, and her robotic identity could remain concealed.  
"Hey, robot." Mitch said, getting the synthetic female's attention. He pulled out his passport and said, "Search your pockets for one of these."  
The robot looked into her pockets for the little pamphlet, but found none. "Why do I need one of those things any way?"  
"Without it, you stay in here forever." That was likely untrue, but Mitch was panicking so much it was hard to contain, so he vented his panic with hyperbole, so he wouldn't have to think as much. His mind went to work devising a plan… there had to be a way to get the robot out of there without revealing its identity. The blue pistol could easily be dismissed as a toy, but two men going away on a trip and arriving with a robot they didn't have a license for would be far too suspicious. No doubt they'd be arrested. So Mitch's thought processes were spurred. Neurons he never knew he had began to ache as he worked out his brain. He hadn't thought this hard since when he was dealing with his old girlfriend. So he came up with a plan as they approached customs, and grinned.  
The robot was smart enough to follow the instructions displayed and set her loose items in the bin that was presented to her: her shoes, her headphones, and other such stuff. When she stepped up to get felt down by the human security officer, Mitch sent his plan into action. The nearby security bots would see that the robot was indeed a robot, but this was the only security checkpoint with both a human and robot guard on duty. The human would believe the robot was human, and assume the robot was malfunctioning. This would buy Mitch some extra time.  
All was going as planned, and Mitch was just picking up his stuff as he heard the two security guards bickering. That's when Mitch stepped in.  
"Sir," Mitch said. "It appears that your robot's organic sensors are on the fritz."  
"Yes," the annoyed security guard said. "Now we're going to need a new robot. These things don't come cheap, you know."  
"Actually," Mitch said, grinning inside. "I'm an engineer. I could solve this problem in a jiffy."  
"Really? That would be great."  
Security guards these days relied on robots so much it wasn't even funny. So Mitch took the ignorance to his advantage. These robots all worked on a system link. They all communicated with each other directly from unit to unit. While reconfiguring the droid, Mitch could make this one security robot tell all the other bots to allow passage for the female android at each security checkpoint. A real security guard would have known what Mitch was doing, but this guy was underpaid and overworked (the result of most labor being inexpensive what with droids taking over jobs, and the lack of human employees) so he didn't care too much about doing his job well. Mitch was a bit disgusted at how easy this was. He finished his work, and was about to walk off, when the guard grabbed him.  
"Hey, you are a licensed engineer, aren't you?"  
Mitch only had to pull out his identification to clear that up. Robots were too rampantly used. However, robot use was only a fad. Besides uses in warfare, robots proved to be impractical, but even then a downed robot was half a million dollars wasted. Sad that the government wept more at the loss of five hundred thousand dollars than the loss of a human life… but Mitch left that topic for later in-brain soliloquies.  
"Hey, Mitch," Buck said. "What took you so long?"  
"Just stuff."  
"Oh, yeah, our extra luggage. I didn't think about how we'd get her through customs."  
"It wasn't too hard."  
"Well, it took you a while. I've been standing here watching these two guys have a conversation as they pass each other in the line maze thingy. It's quite sad, actually. They only get to say a few words before they pass by each other. Anyway, let's get in line."  
The rest of security was a breeze. Thanks to Mitch's mind and the faults of robots, their new friend got past even more swiftly than they did. Mitch thought perhaps she was getting by too quickly to remain inconspicuous, but no problems arose from her speedy completion of customary customs routines. As Buck said, their car was waiting for them as they stood outside the airport door. The three went inside the car and waited until they reached their destination. This was also an interesting experience for the robot, as she had never been in a car before, to her knowledge at least. In mere minutes they arrive at Mitch's house, and Mitch took the robot downstairs to begin the memory recovery process. The most difficult part was getting the robot to calm down.  
"What are you taking me down here for?" the robot asked.  
"I'm going to access some recovery files in your hard drive. Then we'll be able to understand a little more about what happened over in Asia." Came Mitch's calm reply.  
"What happened?" the robot was inexhaustibly inquiring.  
"Well, we got shot at, and we shot some people. We also found a strange blue gun, which I have here."  
"Blue gun? That sounds odd."  
"Yes it does. I'm hoping you have the answers I need."  
"Alright then. Let's get to work."  
"Then lie down on the table."  
"What are you going to do to me?"  
"Just lie down."  
The robot grudgingly obeyed the human, who went to work recovering the robot's memory. Meanwhile, Buck was in the kitchen totally dismayed at what he saw: not a single can of sardines, not a single glob of mayonnaise, not even any sort of meat. All he saw in his friend's fridge was a lonely jar of mustard and hunk of cucumber. He proceeded to the pantry, in search of some sort of chip. What he found was to his horror: rice cakes. Had he not been a wiser man, he would have overlooked the growing mold on the already unpalatable snack, but because he had faith in his friend, and was happy to know that Mitch was not a health freak. Well, through enough searching around Buck eventually saw a delightful stash of Chef Girlessee canned ravioli, beefaroni, and other canned goodies of the like. He opened a can and poured the substance into a bowl, and shoved it into a microwave. As the timer beeped, he heard footsteps and knew something was amiss. It was the robot stamping up the stairs from the basement.  
"I've got to find Quote!" she exclaimed. "He may be in big trouble!"  
"Hold it right there, young lady." Buck commanded.  
The now assertive robot said, "Thank you, Buck for your company, but I must find my friend Quote. So if you'll excuse me…"  
"Come on, uh… robot lady—"  
"It's Curly. Curly Brace."  
"Yeah, well, Curly, we kind of rescued you from bad guys a little while back. We also apparently brought back your memory, so you can't just leave without saying thank you."  
"I did say thank you. I'll be going now, bye."  
Buck so confused he didn't know what to say. But before Curly walked out the door he said, "What about us! When the bad guys get us, we'll be dead meat without a robot like you to defend us."  
Curly stopped halfway out the door when she heard him say this. "I suppose you're right."  
The young billionaire said, "Of course I am. Now what happened to Mitch?"  
"Oh, he had an accident."  
"Oh yeah, there was an accident, all right," Mitch came up the stairs, mildly perturbed. "You knocked me so hard when you sat up it took me thirty seconds to get my bearings."  
"Are you fine now?" Curly asked.  
"I suppose so."  
"Then what're you whining for?"  
Mitch couldn't come up with a good reply so he fell silent. He was shocked by Curly's sudden transformation from timid automaton to confident android, so he just stood there, wide-eyed. Buck reached for his ravioli. Curly introduced herself again. Mitch recovered his senses.  
"So, Curly," Mitch started, gathering his thoughts. "Do you know who those guys were who kidnapped you?"  
"Well," Curly began. "I never saw them with my own eyes, because I was still in the rebooting process. But based on your description of these men, I'd guess they're government agents who once aided the assault on the floating Island."  
"Assault?" Mitch stuttered.  
"Floating Island?" Buck said, letting a few chunks of beef and pasta fly from his teeth.  
"Yes." Curly realized how little sense she was making. She tried to make it make sense, "Well, there's this island, way above the clouds, and within it live these things called mimigas. They're basically what you would think of as a rabbit, except they can talk and reason. Anyhow, ten years ago, just about, a bunch of nations on the earth's surface found out about the island, and did a little research. They found that on the island there was wildlife that, when hunted, produced energy. The various types of fauna also rapidly procreated. You can see that investing in such powerful and renewable energy source would prove to be quite lucrative. But there was one problem: the mimigas. They would not allow people from the surface to come and hunt their wildlife for profit. It never worked that way for them. The United Nations tried to negotiate, but had no luck. They were desperate to find a way to get the energy, and eventually decided to mercilessly slaughter the mimiga population. I was one of the robots sent to save the mimigas. The other was Quote. You guys with me so far?"  
"Well, none of it makes sense," Mitch said. "But keep going."  
"Okay," Curly resumed. "Anyway, with our help, and the help of some flowers (that's a whole different story I don't want to get into), the evil robot threat was defeated. Sometime before their defeat, Quote and I lost our memories, and remained on the island. Presumably, the nations who conspired to secretly conquer the mimigas were happy to know that although their plan had failed, there was no evidence of their evil acts, because the only true witnesses, Quote and I, were still on the Island. But, since we have left the Island, those governments must be trying to destroy us."  
"Okay," Buck said, trying to make sense of what he'd just heard. "So Quote is another robot?"  
"Yes." Curly replied. "So does it all make sense?"  
"Not really." Mitch said. "So you're saying you came from a floating Island?"  
"Yes."  
"Well, we found your body next to a cave that had busted open."  
"Well, that must mean the island's core was destroyed, and the island fell to the earth."  
"I see. How was this core destroyed? What is the core?"  
"It's what held the island in the sky, and I'm assuming Quote destroyed it. I'm not sure why he'd need to, but he's the only one who could do it."  
"Do you know if Quote made it off the island alive or not?"  
Curly paused and thought over this. She really hadn't expected to hear that the island had fallen to the earth. But it did account for her being on the earth's surface, instead of stuck in the waterway. It also accounted for how the government agents knew about her and Quote's arrival. But she didn't know if Quote was able to make it. But she said, "I owe it to Quote to find out if he is out there."  
"I see. Well, what about these governments? Which ones are they? Because if we just shot at some U.S. agents, we're in for some big trouble."  
"I don't know any particular governments, but most of the major U.N. member governments. And if you're in trouble no matter who you shot at," when Curly said this, Mitch nodded in agreement, as Curly continued to speak. "I do know we should find Quote soon, before the agents find Quote and silence him."  
"Should we come with you?" Mitch asked.  
"Well, I suppose you should. Even if they didn't know you knew about the island, they'd probably shoot you anyway."  
"All right," Buck said. "Do you have any idea where Quote might be?"  
"Well, if I can remember how to use my headphones correctly, and because of my being a robot, that won't be problem, I should be able to communicate with Quote over a long distance."  
"But they probably received heavy water damage, as did you." Mitch commented.  
"You're right. There must be a way of locating Quote quickly. I wouldn't want to have to scour the earth to find him. I may be too late."  
"Is there anything else you could tell us about Quote that would help us locate him?"  
"Well," Curly said, trying to remember. "He did say something about a girl named Sue, when I told him I regretted being unable to save some mimigas I mothered."  
"Did he give you a last name?"  
"No."  
"Well, that doesn't get us anywhere." Mitch sighed. He decided to open up his net book and type in some searches regarding anything having to do with "Sue" or "Island". All he got were some news articles about Hawaiians suing each other. Mitch then resumed the questioning. "Curly, you were created in Japan, right?"  
"Yes."  
"So that means Quote was too. Now tell me, do you think Quote would attempt to go back to Japan?"  
"Well, Quote lost his memory as well. He would not know his connection to Japan."  
"Well, there has to be some way of finding out where he is."  
Curly thought hard for an answer. Then it hit her, so she said, "There are a bunch of computers in the island. Maybe if we can find one that is operational, we'll be able to access some information saved to the computer by this Sue person."  
"Perhaps. If we find a computer that is operational in that heap, we'll be pretty lucky. Not to mention getting back in the island wreckage. Those agents have probably gotten the place locked down. There's too much risk involved."  
Mitch decided that Curly wasn't good at thinking things through, and as soon as he thought that, Buck said, "So you were going to go through with this without any sort of plan?"  
Curly looked at herself sheepishly and said, "I suppose so."  
"Well," Mitch said. "I guess you need us just as much as we need you."  
"I guess you're right." Curly confessed.  
"Not that it matters. We're at a dead end anyway, assuming Quote, as you call him, is still alive."  
"Are you sure we're at a dead end?" Buck asked. "Can you find out anything on these rabbit-y things?"  
"Mimigas." Curly corrected.  
"Yeah those."  
"I could try," Mitch replied. "But I doubt anything will come up. We need to come up with a solid plan for finding Quote fast, because those agents could be back here any second. Are you sure you can't think of a good idea, Curly?"  
"Well, thinking isn't really my thing. I don't mean to say that I'm stupid, but Quote was the brains to my brawn."  
"Do you know what Quote might do given this situation?"  
"Well, he might be pretty sad, what with him thinking I'm dead and all. But I've never known him to be sad, so I wouldn't know what he'd do."  
"Or maybe, just maybe, he's looking for you too." 

James the robot had finished paying his respects to Curly, but didn't really want to believe she was dead. He headed back into the room with all the mimigas. Although seeing them brought him some happiness, it was obvious that most of the mimigas had perished, having been enraged by the red flowers, and their faculties had not returned in time for them to be saved from the falling island. There were only around eight mimigas, which was far from the idea given when Momorin said "all the mimigas." There was one female left, so who knew if the mimiga race would live on?

Quote sat alone reflecting on his failures, wondering if there was anything he could have done to stop this bitter aftermath. He arrived too late to save Toroko. Perhaps if she had lived, he could have saved the entire island. Maybe there was some way he could have saved Curly. Maybe he should have given the air tank back to Curly; maybe he should have gone to fight the Core alone. But there was no way. Quote had done all he could, but even so, Curly remained locked in a water-filled room, and perished when the island fell.

That's when James began to hope; Curly had fallen to the earth in a room filled with water. Even if the room she was in had totally collapsed, she would have been washed out, and any pillars falling down on her would have pushed her body away when it moved the water. It was likely that her body remained intact, and if that were so, she was repairable. He decided he had to go back to the island. His gut told him there probably wouldn't be anything there, but he had to make sure. Maybe he was just in denial. But there was a chance that Curly survived. He would have to find a way back into the fallen island. He would take the Sakamotos' helicopter; he was deathly afraid of the Sky Dragon. So, making sure no one noticed him slipping out of the Sakamotos' house, James proceeded toward the helicopter. He was taking off, sure of his mission. He had to find Curly's body. Then he could bring her back. It was the least he could do after she saved his life. He was so intent on his purpose, that when he heard a tumble in the back of the helicopter, he nearly fell out of the pilot's seat. He looked behind him. It was Sue.

"Sue!" James exclaimed. "What are you doing here?"

"I was following you!" Sue said boldly. "And don't think I don't know what you're doing! You're looking for Curly."

"Yes I am. But you shouldn't be here."

"Oh yeah, who are you to say I shouldn't be here? I can go away from home, I'm a big girl!"

"Well, does your mom know about this?"

"Umm… no. But what does that have to do with this? I did fine without my mom for a couple days. Aside from… you know."

"Well, it's because of that you should stay with your mom. Your form has rendered you pretty weak, and I wouldn't want anything to happen to you."

"I don't care if I'm a mimiga, I can handle anything!"

"You seemed to handle Igor pretty well."

"Ha, ha. Besides, it's not like you could've handled him!"

James recalled keeping Igor's defeat a secret from Sue, and remained silent.

"That's what I thought!" Sue declared triumphantly. Then, more calmly, "So, do you really think we'll find Curly?"  
"Well, the conditions under which I left her created the safest environment for a robot to be in the event of a crash. I should be able to find her body. But as far as that 'we' part…"

"Oh, come on, James! I promise I'll stay out of trouble."

"You'll have to stay in the helicopter the entire time I'm gone."

"Oh, come on, can't I go with you? Please? I can get into some really tight space because I'm a mimiga. You'll be able to find Curly in no time with me!"

James considered this. Then he said, "Okay, fine. Just make sure you don't get hurt. I don't want your mom to get mad at me because of something dumb that you did."

"Thank you!"

The helicopter flew off towards the island wreckage, and the robot and mimiga were anticipant of what they might find there. When they did arrive, late at night, what James saw disturbed him: floodlights, helicopters, and men on the ground searching the remains of the island; he knew something was wrong. But one thing he did notice elated him: the shimmering reflection of water streaming from the island. James decided that was proof enough, and he had better be leaving the area before someone noticed him. He was too late. A helicopter faced his, and a voice boomed out of a loudspeaker.

"You are under arrest for trespassing in UN airspace. Please land your helicopter."  
James was caught. He landed the helicopter and got out as instructed. Sue followed. Two robots and a human came to greet them.  
"So, this is Quote." The human said referring to the robot that thought his name was James.  
"Who's Quote?" James/Quote asked.  
"You are!" The man snapped. "Don't play the fool here. We know you were one of the scout robots sent to the island by… that Japanese organization whose name I can't remember right now. Nothing you can say can get you out of this."  
Quote assumed that "Quote" was his name before he lost his memory. He'd already gotten used to James, but that little party was over now.  
"As for this mimiga…" the man said with evil intent. "She will reveal to us the location of any other of her brethren."  
"Oh, you think so?" Sue yelled, shaking her fist.  
The man kicked Sue hard in the chest. Quote leaped to strike the man, but his robots held him back. Quote, however, quickly threw them off, and restarted his attack. The agent had come equipped with a gun that he shot and stunned Quote with. Everything went black, right after he saw Sue being hauled off. 

"But if he's looking for you he's probably gotten caught by now." Mitch said after some thought. The first place Quote would go would be to the Island, and then he'd inevitably be caught. "So that would mean he'd be easy to find, but impossible to rescue. Curly, what do you think would happen to Quote if he were indeed captured?"  
"Well," Curly said. "They probably would destroy him. He wouldn't tell them anything about where I am, because his memory is lost. Either that or they would realize that his memory is lost and delete his memory files."  
"The second is more likely. Even so, I believe we should still find Quote, because he is your friend."  
"Oh, indeed."  
Curly heard something, and looked out of the window of Mitch's house. A car had rolled in, and some men in black suits, obviously agents, were walking towards the door. Buck and Mitch looked out to see what was up. As they dreaded what might happen, Curly took her blue pistol. They didn't notice her go down until she spoke.  
"This Polar Star is pretty beat up, but it'll do." Curly said as she went out. It was still powered from the energy tetrahedrons harvested from the island, but even so, it was four against one. Curly opened the front door to see an agent right in her face. He was surprised to see a gun pointed at his face, and gave Curly too much time. She vaporized him right there. But the other two men opened fire. Their machine pistols were not as powerful as hers, but they had a longer effective range. This is what she got for using island technology, meant only to extract energy from slain creatures.  
Meanwhile, upstairs, Mitch and Buck were simply astonished that Curly vaporized the agent right where he stood.  
Curly continued to battle the agents, who were fairly good at hitting Curly, but not good at evading the blasts of energy that flew from her pistol. The firefight lasted less than a few minutes, and Curly returned upstairs.  
"Why'd you kill them?" Mitch asked.  
"Because they had guns."  
"Yeah, well you didn't have to kill them. We could have escaped through the back door." Mitch said. "But I suppose that doesn't matter anyway. We should probably leave now, because they'll no doubt bring more firepower next time."  
"Yes. By what means?" Buck asked. "It's not like we can take a car, because they all have those tracking systems built in nowadays. You wouldn't have any gas-powered vehicles, would you?"  
"Well, besides the fact that they're illegal, none have been made for one hundred years." Mitch said.  
"What about a bicycle?"  
"That just might work. And if Curly pedals, we could probable get moving pretty fast."  
"Do you think we could fit three people on one bike?"  
"No. Two at maximum." Mitch said, thinking hard. "I guess we'll have to use two bikes. You go with Curly, head for the southern border. I'll ride to the docks and hop on a boat. We'll meet at the Mexico City airport."  
"Then what?" Buck asked.  
"Then we go to Japan."  
Curly and Buck hopped on a bike, and Mitch mounted his. Pedaling as fast she could, Curly easily passed the speed limit and sped along. The UN agents found them and pursued. The local law enforcement aided the agents in the pursuit. Mitch pulled out a few minutes later, and avoided attracting too much attention. He made it to the dock fine, and went to Mexico on his jet ski. His escape was a tad bit stealthier than Curly's and Buck's.  
Curly was pedaling as fast as she could, following Buck's directions to Mexico. Curly was also doing a fairly good job at avoiding the cops. Curly could easily navigate through roadblocks, or even jump over them, because the bicycle was so maneuverable. But even with all stunts Curly was pulling, it was getting too hard for her to make her pursuers drop out. The local and state polices, of course, had given up, but federal back up was unrelenting. What was the deal with these guys? They really wanted her captured, so Curly decided to use that to her advantage. If she made it look like she was getting tired, the agents could easily be lulled into a false sense of victory.  
Curly slowed her pace, and Buck was too busy holding on for dear life that all he cared about was that he wouldn't be falling off the bike, instead of that the bad guys were gaining on them. They were approaching the border, and the agents were coming up on all sides. That's when Curly put a final burst of speed into her pedaling, leaving some perplexed agents lost in her dust. The only problem was that nowadays border patrol was pretty strict, on the Mexicans' part. Seeing as how many Americans went to Mexico after all sorts of socialistic policies were enacted, it mad the Mexicans realize the need for border protection. They also didn't use robots, because if they could be proved unreliable once, they would have to arrange their security system differently to compensate, and that would take too much unnecessary time. You could fire a human more easily than reprogramming one.  
Luckily though, what with the influx of English-speaking people, a lot of places in Mexico served Spanish and English speaking people; like the border entrance offices. This made it easier to understand the officials and made their passage into the country easier, and made their way to the airport relaxing. Those government agents also had no jurisdiction in Mexico (Mexico had left the UN), so were not allowed by Mexican police into their country.  
Although America was not a poor country, they were certainly not as well off as Mexico. Mexico's economy had flourished over the years, and their peso rose in value, and became higher than the American dollar. Yes, their economy was flourishing, their buildings were tall, and their people were well fed and educated, but cultural norms die hard, and as Mitch boarded a bus to the airport, he had to share it with fifty other Mexicans. If Mexico's natural heat wasn't enough, just think about that added to the combined body head of a half-hundred people. The body heat issue did lead Mexico to create the most advanced in-car air conditioners, but even then it was unbearable for Mitch.  
Buck and Curly waited at the airport, and they saw the sweaty Mitch stumble in through the door. The cool air conditioning felt nice, and he relaxed and breathed cool air. Mitch walked up and said, "How long were you guys waiting?"  
"A few minutes. Let's go get plane tickets," Buck said, then sniffed and said, "Do I smell tacos?"  
"You might. I was just in a room with fifty Mexicans. Who knows what could have happened?"  
"That what she—"  
"Shut up. Now let's go get some tickets."  
They got their tickets and boarded the plane in a few hours. Mitch wondered if the agents knew what their next move would be, and if they'd try to intercept the plane. Needless to say, he was getting pretty paranoid. He decided to just turn on his iPod and fall asleep, and that's exactly what he did. 

Quote woke up. He was in a brightly lit cell. He sat up in a bed and looked out the metal door's window. He saw Sue being dragged to her room, and heard a slamming noise that came from the next room. The robots that carried Sue came in for Quote. He could not resist their grip, and they hauled him off down some hallways. He looked around as men in lab coats passed by, and the occasional robot trudged along. He was eventually led into a room, where he was restrained to a cold slab. A man in a lab coat reached for his head. Quote didn't know exactly what he was going to do, but he didn't like it. He burst through the tight restraints using all the strength he could muster. He kicked the startled mechanic back into a chair. The sentry robots opened fire on Quote.  
The robots were stronger than any he'd fought before, and the small room made it difficult for him to fight. He used the slab that had once restrained him as a weapon, and shoved it at his attackers. One robot was rendered useless, and the other remained deadly. Quote was taking a lot of fire, and he didn't know how much more he could take. He yanked the robot arm that once spewed energy at him and used it to destroy the remaining droid. He was badly damaged, and needed to repair himself before more droids came by. He left the room, and encountered some sentry robots, aided by a human commander. He rushed and took the human's weapon, slamming him into the wall in the process. He got off a few rounds at the sentry bots and disabled them. He was more damaged than before, so he needed to proceed with extra caution.  
He walked into the next room and made some repairs, but he couldn't do any major work because of the lack of spare parts. These new robots weren't compatible with his model. He had grown too used to the regenerative properties of the island's wildlife. He needed to play it safe. Some more sentries arrived through the hallway on both sides. He took careful aim and ducked behind cover. He began to do pretty well at destroying robots. He saw fewer and fewer human attackers, as they probably didn't want to risk their lives. Millions of dollars in robotics technology was swirling down the toilet as Quote continued to repel wave after wave of robots.  
The bad guys did not want to retreat, though. It would be a shame to be defeated one of their bases. All the robots in the detention area had been destroyed, so they couldn't use Sue's life as a bargaining token. Soon, they had to admit defeat.  
Quote was "in the zone" for lack of better term. He was moving naturally from cover to cover, popping off rounds, and recovering ammo. When the robots stopped coming, his mind suddenly snapped back into reality. He went over to the detention area and found Sue, who was badly beat up.  
"James?" Sue said faintly as she squinted.  
"Well, kind of," Quote said. Sue fell unconscious, and he boarded an aircraft and left the installation. He didn't know how to get to Sue's house, but he knew it was in Japan, and he was in a place in Europe. He headed toward the island nation.

The trio arrived in Japan, and Curly was able to make it through customs as a robot (she could said that Buck was her owner, something that helped in entering Mexico). Curly liked riding in planes, now that she could expect the change in velocity. But now that they were in Japan, they were a little more vulnerable. Japan was still in the UN, so agents could roam freely therein, unlike in Mexico. They didn't need paperwork to go to Japan. So they needed to keep their wits about them.

"So Curly," Buck said. "Do you have any idea where we should go?"

"Maybe we should try and find Sue." Curly suggested.  
"Or," Mitch proposed. "We could look for a needle in a haystack."  
"Well, I have no idea where we should go." Curly said.  
"What about that Hiroshima Nagasaki place?" Buck asked.  
"Yeah, my thoughts exactly." Mitch agreed.  
"I do not know what you're talking about." Curly said.  
"Your manufacturers." Mitch explained.  
"Oh…" Curly said, the confusion clear from her mind. "You mean—"  
Just then someone's luggage had been dropped and curses uttered from someone's mouth.  
"Huh?" Buck said, wanting Curly to repeat what she'd said.

Curly just rolled her eyes and said, "Just follow me… wait. I don't know how to get there."

"We could just call a cab." Mitch suggested. So they exited the airport and called for a cab. They arrived at the tallest tower in Tokyo. Mitch looked all the way up to its top, and nearly fell back in doing so.

When they entered the building, a woman said to them, in English, "Head right up to the top floor."

Mitch and Buck glanced at each other, and then shrugged. Apparently their arrival was noticed. They went into the elevator. The top floor was really high up, and the building's movement was easily detectable. An old Japanese man greeted them at the top.

"Good morning, gentleman," the old man began. "My name is Modori Fujimoto, but you can just call me Mr. Fujimoto. I see you've recovered my robot. Curly Brace, it's been a while."

"Yes it has." Curly said.

"It is fortunate that you've not fallen into the hands of the enemy. When the island fell, I feared for the worst. Do you know where Quote is?"

"No, sir, unfortunately. My only lead is a girl named Sue, but I do not know her last name, so it's only a dead end. We can here for your help."

"I see. I assume Sue is part of the research team that was sent to the island last month."

"Research team?"

"Apparently you don't know much about them. A group of researchers was sent last month by a private organization, and a woman named Momorin Sakamoto had to take her children with her to the island. Sue Sakamoto was Momorin's daughter. My old friend Booster went as well. Do you know if he made it?"

"Um… no. So do you think we should seek out these Sakamotos?"

"Indeed we should. But these Americans should not go, nor should you, because you look so American. It would arouse too much suspicion if a couple of tourists were at the home and laboratory of a famous scientist. I will send a few of my employees to recover Quote before the enemy does.

Sue had woken up and given Quote directions to her house. Momorin ran out to her and hugged her, and told her never to run away again and all that other mom stuff. Then she said something a little different than what a normal mother would say.

"I've found a way to return you back to human form."

Sue's eyes brightened. "Really? When can I go back?"

"Just follow me down to the laboratory. Itoh is waiting."

They walked down to the basement laboratory. The transmogrification machine whirred loudly, and Sue was instructed to enter a pod that would contain the processes of transmogrification. Itoh stepped into a separate pod, and the process began. The machine whirred more loudly than before, and light filled the room. Sue looked at her paws, and they were turning back into human hands. The process ended, and she stepped out. Her feet were human, her hands were human, and she had hair only on her head like a human. She almost laughed, but she sneezed instead. The painful sneeze reminded her of her original change into mimiga form. Thus, she instantly changed back into a mimiga. Apparently the machine couldn't keep them held in their natural form for too long.

"Humph!" Momorin said. "I was sure this process would reverse the effects of the Demon Crown. Well, it did, but only temporarily. We'll need to do more work."

"Ms. Sakamoto," Quote broke in. "Someone's at the door."

"Oh, really? Well let me go up and see who it is."

Momorin answered the door and saw two Japanese men wearing suits.

"Ms. Sakamoto, we understand that you have a robot in your possession."

"I don't believe so." Momorin replied.

"You sure?" One of the men asked. He held up a picture of Quote and said, "He looks like this."

"Oh, I've seen him. You mean to tell me that that young man is a robot?"

"Yes ma'am."

"Wait right here."

Momorin went down, and confirmed that Quote was a robot, and brought him back up. She said, "Here he is. What do you want from him?"

"My employer, Mr. Fujimoto, sent this robot along with another to stop a UN plot from massacring the mimigas on the island. The robots need to be secured by Mr. Fujimoto so the enemy nations won't be able to destroy the proof of their evils. We also know a Professor Booster was sent with your research team to the island. Did he make it off alive?"

"Sadly, no." Momorin replied sadly.

"That is terrible news. He and Mr. Fujimoto were great companions."

"Really? Well, do you want this robot to go with you?"

"Yes, but to keep you all safe, it is necessary that you and your family move to our headquarters."

"We can't. We have some mimigas under our protection. Moving them would be too much strain on them. They've already been through so much, what with the Doctor and all that he did."

"The Doctor…" the man said inquiringly.

"Oh, I'm sorry. Fuyuhiko Date."

"Fuyuhiko Date? The greatest physician in Japan?"

"Yes. It's a long story, but the mimigas need some stability in their lives now, and a place to call home. Their race also needs to be preserved; there is only one young female left."

"Well, I'm surprised to see that some mimigas made it. I'm sure Mr. Fujimoto will have no problem moving Curly over here." The man contacted Fujimoto on his phone, explaining the situation, then said, "He's on his way."

"Okay then." Momorin said, then smiled and said, "Do you two want to come in? I made cookies."

The two men nodded and headed in. The cookies were good, and the fresh milk was a rare commodity in Japan, and the two men had enjoyed every bit of it. Although advancements in technology would seem to prove otherwise, densely populated areas did not have a large amount of milk supplies, and they were forced to import powdered milk, which usually had little chunks of unstirred milk in it after you hand-stirred it. The Sakamotos had a regular supply of cow's milk, what with their wealth. Fujimoto was partial to soymilk, so the men didn't even get a chance to drink real milk.

In a half hour Fujimoto, Curly, Mitch, and Buck arrived. Fujimoto entered the Sakamoto residence. Momorin glanced over and saw the old CEO, and greeted him. Quote came up the stairs and saw Curly. He ran to her and hugged her.  
"Hi, Quote." Curly said, surprised and happy to know that Quote was actually alive.  
"Oh, Curly," Quote said, feeling the same way. "I'm so glad you're alive."  
"Thank this man," Curly said, pointing to Mitch. "He's the one who brought me back."  
"Thank you, sir."  
"Oh, don't mention it." Mitch said, blushing. "I was happy to be of service."  
Curly and Quote went off together to see the mimigas. She hugged the two remaining Colons tightly, and they, her. Curly wept over the two lost ones as well, when she heard of their fate. Quote was there to lend a shoulder to cry on. It was a scene of happiness and grief, but in the end, Curly was glad she had Quote there.  
Meanwhile, Mitch and Buck were feeling pretty useless.  
"Hey, Mr. Fudgymoto—" Buck began.  
"It's Fujimoto. Long 'u' sound." Mitch corrected.  
"I'm sorry—Fujimoto," Buck said. Fujimoto acknowledge him and gave him his attention. "What do we do now?"  
"Nothing, I suppose. We can handle this from here on. We just need you to stay here and be safe."  
The pals grumbled. They decided to lounge in the other room, but were gripped with awkwardness and terror when they walked into a room full of little bunny rabbits staring at them. Curly and Quote were among them, staring as well.  
"Oh, hi," Buck said. "We'll be leaving now."  
Mitch restrained him and said, "Why don't we stay here. These guys _are _actually pretty cute, once you get past the fact that they're all staring at us, and one of them is purple."  
"Yeah, they are pretty cute. Hey little guy…" Buck reached out to pet one of the bunnies, and his fingers were bitten. Curly scolded the mimiga while Buck shrieked with pain.  
"He just has to get to know you." Curly said.  
Buck sucked on his hurting fingers, while Mitch stifled a chuckle.  
"So what are these things?" Mitch asked.  
"They're called mimigas."  
"Ah…" Mitch said. Fujimoto had talked about them on their way over, but without a visual representation the concept of a mimiga was impossible to believe. "So they talk, right?"  
"Yes, but in the mimiga language." Curly said.  
"I see."  
A somewhat awkward silence arose. Buck pulled his fingers out of his mouth, and spoke, "So, Curly, I guess we won't be needed any longer."  
"I never really thought about that, but yes, I suppose your work is done. Thank you so much for rescuing me."  
"You're welcome." The friends muttered. They were discontented to be doing nothing after all they'd already been through. Mitch pulled his net book out of his pocket and turned it on.  
"Mitch, come on. This is no time to be on your little computer." Buck said,  
"Buck, you couldn't be more wrong," Mitch replied as the computer chimed its start up jingle. "We have nothing to do. I'll just check he various social networking sites I'm in to pass the time. You should do something similar."  
"Mitch, you're just going to stop after all we've done? There's got to be something more we can do."  
Mitch looked away from his computer screen and up at Buck. "Buck, we are only very small players in this grand scheme. This catastrophe is ten years in the making, and the only ones who can stop it are the ones who started it. Although our role was vital, we don't really matter that much."  
"So you're saying we are small and insignificant?"  
"Yes, indeed. But what you should focus on is that they couldn't have done it without us."  
"I hadn't thought of it that way." Buck grinned and acknowledged this, then said. "But I wish there was more."  
"Yes, but if there was more it would have to end eventually. Then we'd be where we are now. And don't think I don't want any more action, because I do. It's just that our thirst for adventure will never be satisfied. Why try to quench it?"  
"I can see where you're coming from, but I don't totally agree with you on that one. I think we should keep seeking adventure, and have the fun and experience it gives to cherish on our journey through life."  
"My, Buck; that sounded quite profound."  
"It did. I am proud of myself indeed."  
"Well, even so, I don't think I'm quite ready to believe that."  
Buck shrugged. It's not as if it mattered too much. Their adventures were over anyway. 

"So what do we do now?" Momorin asked. The government conspiracy was revealed to them, and they informed Mr. Fujimoto of the events on the island. Now they were about to act.  
"We need to get Curly and Quote to a broadcasting station and record their testimonies. The UN agents are probably on their way here so we must move quickly." Mr. Fujimoto commanded. "I'll leave some of my men here to keep the mimigas safe. Your testimonies are valuable as well, so you also must come."  
"What about those two men? Aren't their testimonies valuable?"  
"I'd like for them to walk away from this. It wasn't their trouble, and I want their readjustment to normal life to be an easy one. If they testified or indicated any involvement in this operation, they would have to go through a large number of processes before they'd be able to return to their homes."  
"I suppose you're right; but what about Sue? Does she have to go?"  
"Of course not."  
"Oh, come on!" Sue said. "I want to be on TV!"  
"Sorry darling," Momorin said. "You'd get too much unnecessary attention."  
"Mom's right," Kazuma said. The words of Sue's older brother aided her upset state, but did not remove it. She rested her head in her hands and leaned on the table they were sitting at.  
"So," Fujimoto said. "Shall we go?"  
The grown-ups nodded and headed to the helicopter. Fujimoto beckoned for Curly and Quote, and they followed him out the door. The blades were whirring and beating the air heavily and loudly.  
"How far is it to the station?" Momorin yelled, her hair flying in her face.  
"[Fifty miles]," Fujimoto yelled back. "If the winds aren't too bad."  
"I heard the forecast," Kazuma said as he and Momorin entered the copter. "It wasn't supposed to be too windy."  
"Then I guess we should be fine." Fujimoto said as he boarded the aircraft.  
"I'm not so sure," Itoh said, who didn't want to go on a helicopter any more than he had to. The last time he left the earth's surface, it wasn't a good idea. One bad experience was enough for him to stay on the ground. Curly and Quote heaved the half-mimiga onto the copter, and they took off.  
"I guess it's not so bad." Itoh said after a while. But Itoh spoke too soon, and some turbulence shook the helicopter. "I take that back! As soon as we get on the ground, I'm staying."  
Itoh would have wet his fur right there, had he not the bladder capacities of a mimiga that were significantly greater than a human's. Even then he came close. He was greatly anticipating the drop off. The helicopter landed on the top f the broadcasting tower, and Itoh ran inside. Fujimoto and the others followed at a normal pace. They entered the recording room, and were interviewed. Their testimonies were recorded, the process took about three hours, but it was a relief to finally have the testimonies. Now all they had to do was air them on national television. It would be believed, even with the extraordinary concept of the mimigas and a floating island, but Mr. Fujimoto was respected enough for people to believe him.

One of the station's employees approached him and said, "It'll be an hour until we're ready to air the testimonies."

"What shall we do until then?" Itoh asked. "No doubt the UN already figured out the plan to expose their evils. They may have even traced us here. There'll be agents here any second now."

"Don't be so paranoid." Fujimoto consoled, as Kazuma looked out the window with a grave expression. Curly and Quote had been looking out for a while as well. United Nations Military Forces were on their way in black drop ships. They all wondered how this could happen, or why. Why these measures? But this was soon cleared up.

"Japan has been deemed threatening to world security," a loudspeaker droned in Japanese. "A military occupation is in order until the threat is neutralized."

"This is unbelievable." Fujimoto murmured. He didn't know this drastic of measures would be taken. It was an illogical decision. Japan's leaders would not allow this occupation to go too far. It wasn't too long before the government forces took Mr. Fujimoto's tower. Another five drop-ships of men were headed toward the broadcasting tower. "Now we've lost. The testimonies will be destroyed, and likely our bodies if we don't get out of here."

"Can't we just run out of here with the tape?" Kazuma suggested.

Fujimoto shook his head. "It's not that simple. Recording equipment in a studio is much more high-tech than what you can buy at a store. All data is transmitted from the cameras directly to a central hard drive. It would take at least five minutes to put the information onto a removable device, as the video format was created to be quite massive, in the event that someone wished to steal the files, so they could be traced more easily given the larger time. We just don't have that kind of time. We should cut our losses here and get out while we can. If we live we can find a way to expose their plot."

"We must get those files. If we don't get them out in the public now, our side of the story will never be taken seriously." Momorin said.

"I have an idea," Quote said. "I could send the file to a computer at the Sakamoto home via the internet."

"Yes, but that would take too long." Kazuma informed.

"That would mean I'd be left behind."

"Okay, then, let's go already! We're closer to death each second we spend talking!" Itoh exclaimed frantically. "We need to get on that helicopter NOW!"

"Are you sure you want to do this, Quote?" Fujimoto asked. Quote nodded, and headed to the central computer area. The rest of them headed back up to the roof. They were on top and they saw some drop ships a few hundred meters off. They quickly boarded the vehicle that brought them there, and took off to make a quick escape. Momorin looked around as she noticed something was amiss.

"Wait," she said. "Curly isn't here."

"Oh no," Fujimoto said. "I can't believe we forgot her. But there is no turning back now. But not all is lost. If Quote succeeds, we will win."

Momorin only hoped now. There was nothing left to do.

Curly couldn't let Quote die. She ran as fast she could to the main computer. As a robot, she was naturally drawn to complex electronics, and made her way down and found Quote. She busted the door open, as the startled Quote glanced over. He looked at her and continued typing furiously. He needed to change the format of the video so it would be small enough to transfer over the Internet.

"Curly," Quote exclaimed. "Why are you here? You should be with the others."

"I can't leave you alone like this," Curly said compassionately.

"Curly, I have to do this."

"No Quote, you don't."

Quote stared at the screen as his fingers continued to fly across the keyboard, generating phonically pleasing clicks and clacks at great speeds.

"Yes, Curly, I do. It's the only way I can repay what you've done for me."

"Quote," Curly said softly. "If you want to do this for me, then don't. What I want is for you to live. And how do you think I'd feel with you gone?"

"How do you think I felt?" Quote snapped. He didn't mean to sound so angry, but it was just the tension getting to him. He turned his head down and said, "I'm sorry."

Curly nodded sympathetically. "I never really thought about it that way."

Silence fell for a few moments, but Curly resumed, "Quote, they'll be here any second now."

"All right, I've converted the file. It was quite hard to do. Now, I must get it to the Sakamotos' computer… except I don't know how to do that. I could find a way, but I don't have the time. Curly, you can't stay with me. I'll be too long. Now please, I don't want to be the cause of your death."

"But I don't want to be without you."

Quote handed Curly his cap. The metal plate on the forehead that read "Curly Brace" shimmered in the dim lighting. "Take this, to remember me."

Curly had presumably given it to him; all he wanted to do was give a little back.

"No, Quote," she said, plopping the cranial apparel on the Quote. "There has to be a way we can both make it out of here."

Quote shook his head softly. As he was working to send the Sakamotos the files, a thought struck him. He began to type more furiously than before, and Curly realized he was on to something.

"What is it, Quote?" Curly asked.

"Do you still have that Polar Star, by any chance?"

"Yes I do. Why?"

"You'll need it if we're both going to get out of here alive. I can do this a faster way, so you need to buy me time."

A weapon compartment opened from her back, and she pulled out the blue pistol. Battered as it was, it still had a lot of damage left to deal. She looked out the doorway and saw a group of men running down the hallway. She fired, vaporizing two of them. They returned fire and hid in some nearby rooms, ducking out every now and then to return fire. Curly fired madly, mostly missing, but she got a few hits and helped Quote in his process. Soon she had two fronts to defend against. Just then Quote popped up behind her.

"Shouldn't you be at the computer?" Curly asked.

"I'm sending the file now. We'll have to stay here to be sure nothing goes wrong, but I don't have to do anything more."

Curly peeked back out and fired some shots. Quote noted her horrible accuracy and commented, "Mind if I take over?"

Curly handed over the pistol, which Quote used with startling efficiency. There were too many men. They were human, not robots, which was something that Quote found a little odd. Human soldiers weren't common these days, and the laser rifles were less common. But it wasn't anything Quote was to be concerned with at that moment so he dismissed the thought. He just held up and hoped the file would finish transferring.

A new notification popped up on Mitch's browser.

"Hum… Gyuga Ryoku has sent you a friend request." He read aloud.  
"Accept it!" Buck said. "His name is too awesome for you to pass this up."  
"You and your obsession for Japanese names. How do you know he's not a pedophile?"  
"Just do it. I'll make sure no one rapes you."  
Mitch rolled his eyes and accepted the request. He was getting quite bored. He just wanted to go home and play Call to Honor Modern Warfare 3 with his friends, and have some Chef Girlessee Raviolis. He continued to scroll up and down his profile page, as he was wont to do in his boredom, when he soon received another notification.  
"Gyuga Ryoku has sent you a message."  
He checked his message bin. Attached to the message was a file, named, "Doukutsu Monogatari." He was about to delete it, but then Buck chimed in, "Open it! Open it!"  
"Okay, Buck, this is where I draw the line. Your fascination for Japanese names has gone too far. How do you know this doesn't have a virus? Or worse: _porn_."  
Buck contemplated the possibility.  
"_Man porn_." Mitch added, to which Buck grimaced. It wasn't worth the risk. But then Buck realized how often Mitch tried to trick him with his superior intelligence, and realized that the possibility of a transfer of naughty files was unlikely on the social networking sites of the day.  
"Nice try, Mitch," Buck said as the cursor hovered over the "delete" button. "You can't send that stuff over social networking sites."  
Mitch had lost. It was happening too often… he would have to be smarter in the future. For now he admitted defeat by downloading the file and opening it. The video was in Japanese, to which Buck was disappointed. What did he expect?  
"The video is in Japanese." Buck said with disappointment.  
"What did you expect?" Mitch said. But as they watched, they realized what it was. It was the testimonies of Fujimoto and the others. It was completely unedited, but it that's what it was. Quote's plan had worked. 

Yes, it worked, but how would he get out alive, with Curly? He fired a couple shots at the ever-resourceful enemies. These men were elite warriors, and were not easy to kill. He'd only vaporized three out of the fifteen that held the hallway. He could easily keep them back, so they didn't make progress. But if they had any more backup soldiers, he was in trouble. He needed to find a way to get out.  
"Quote, the transfer's complete!" Curly shouted.  
"Good, do you know how we can get out of here?"  
"I don't know. I think I should have listened to you when you told me to leave."  
"There has to be a way." Quote got an idea and shut the door, and only the light of the computers lit the room. He held a finger to his lips right before Curly spoke a word. Quote knew that the shutting of the door would draw men in. Of course, they were to smart to send all of their men in. However in this case it was an error of judgment. A pair of men entered the room. Curly and Quote subdued them quietly and slid the door shut. They donned the armor the elite troops carried. The fact that the suit was made for men made Curly's chest a tad bit uncomfortable, so she deflated the vestigial apparatuses to prevent irritation. They exited the room.  
One man approached Curly and asked, "Did they get away?"  
In order to conceal Curly's identity as a female, Quote spoke. The helmet altered the voice a tad, and allowed Quote to speak without fear of being compromised. "Yes, they went through the ventilation shaft. But we can easily lock them in and find them later."  
"How would we go about doing that?"  
"Well, we'd need to get to the security level and activate the lockdown sequence."  
"Alright. I'm on my way."  
"Oh, and do you mind if I ask you a question?" Quote said as the man started off.  
"What is it, Sir?"  
"Do you know if any men went to the Sakamoto residence?"  
"Uh, I'm not sure, sir. Is that a problem?"  
"Yes, it is. I will go personally to silence them."  
"Shall we go with you?"  
"No, you must get those robots."  
"Understood, sir."  
Quote had played his part well, and did good thinking on his feet when he realized he was wearing the armor of an officer (of sorts). The man ran off, and Quote went for the rooftop. He and Curly headed to the Sakamoto residence in one of the black drop ships. When they arrived, evidence of a shootout was evident, but there were only fallen UN forces. Quote and Curly took off their masks, to reveal their identities to their friends. When they entered, the Sakamotos and affiliates congratulated the robots' success.

Epilogue

Later, after they'd all settled down, (and Curly took off her armor and re-inflated to a suitable level) they discussed what would happen next. It would be a day or two before the Japanese retaliated.

"But the technology the UN has is so incredible. How could we hope to defeat them?" Itoh said.

"When they had advanced robots, we had Quote and Curly Brace." Fujimoto reminded him. "Do not think we are too weak."

Itoh nodded sheepishly and they resumed the talk. Mitch and Buck would have to stay in Japan longer than originally thought but because of that Fujimoto realized their acts of heroism would not go unnoticed, and their testimonies were later added to those of the group. The testimony video was later edited and given subtitles in French, Spanish, and English versions. An English dub was considered briefly, but everyone knew that dubbed Japanese media was worthless, so they quickly dismissed the idea. The video was submitted in its original language to a video sharing web site a day after its creation and was quickly distributed throughout the world. Most people only watched the part with the talking bunny (Itoh). The subbed video also had a great reception, and soon it became known that the interviews were of true events. This caused a schism in the UN, similar to what happened after the Protestant Reformation.

Also, a short battle was fought to keep the UN out of Japan two days after the initial occupation. This erupted into a month-long war that dissipated as quickly as the UN's power. When America left the Union and made progressive moves back to Federalism and capitalism, the UN lost most of its funding and lost a lot of power.

The transmogrification machine was refined with Mitch's help and Itoh and Sue returned to their original states. Shortly after, Mitch and Buck were restored to their original States.

The mimiga population was being cultivated in the English countryside, where Quote and Curly enjoyed each other's company for a long, long time.

The End


End file.
